§ Mr. Rowlandsasked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the total value of the internal and external costs of his Department and the internal and external cost to British Gas of all the work involved in the sale of Wytch Farm; and who bore these external costs in each case.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerThe cost to my Department of merchant banking and petroleum consultancy advice for this sale is £98,388, inclusive of VAT. The net external costs of British Gas attributable to work involved in the sale is likely to be about £1.75 million, which is being met out of the proceeds of sale. Estimates of internal costs are not available; arriving at worthwhile estimates would require disproportionate effort and expense.
§ Mr Rowlandsasked the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his reply of 4 June, Official Report, column 53, whether he will list the professional advisers who advised him as to the acceptability of the terms of the sale of Wytch Farm; and how much they were paid for such advice.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerS. G. Warburg & Co. Ltd. provided merchant banking advice to my Department on the Wytch Farm sale. I also benefited, of course, from advice from the staff of my own and other Departments. On fees for outside advice, I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him of today about internal and external costs.
§ Mr. Rowlandsasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will place in the Library copies of all the professional and other advice received from outside Government prior to his decision being reached that the terms of the sale of Wytch Farm interests of the British Gas Corporation were commercially justifiable and in the national interest; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerNo. It is not normal practice to make advice to Ministers public.
§ Mr. Rowlandsasked the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his answer of 11 May, Official Report, column 307W 478, when he expects production in the licence area of Wytch Farm to reach 20,000 barrels a day; and what safeguards have been included in the agreement of the sale of Wytch Farm to ensure that the Dorset Bidding Group does not deliberately reduce production to below 20,000 barrels a day.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerThe expansion of production from PL 089, which includes the Wytch Farm field, will depend on the success of the new development plan being prepared by British Petroleum, the operator for the field. Details of the sale agreements between the British Gas Corporation and the Dorset Bidding Group are commercially confidential, but I am satisfied with the safeguards they contain in respect of the level of future production. It is likely to be strongly in the commercial interest of both the operator and the Dorset Bidding Group to expand production as rapidly as possible.